A/B testing is a must for any business hoping to increase its conversions and become more successful online.

As we all know when it comes to converting there’s always room for improvement. By testing one page or a call to action against the other we can find out which is better and has a higher rate of success. We can then rinse and repeat and make continuing alterations to these tested pages to improve conversion rates.

Increased conversions means more leads, more downloads and a higher success rate. So, here are some tips on how to effectively split test to achieve your goal.

Before the Internet split testing wasn’t really an option for marketers. Businesses working in direct mail or media advertisements just didn’t do. For one thing, it was too expensive and secondly, it was a lot harder to measure.

Nowadays things are very different. As Internet marketers we can control and vary the groups we test landing pages and call to actions on. This means we can perform quick, easy and cost effective tests and improve our sites remarkably. In addition, it’s even made easy for us – as there are also plenty of great tools out there to help.

When it comes to A/B tests we’re not starting from a standing position, we have a good idea of what works.

You know your audience. So, you can start from an informed position when it comes to A/B testing. For example, a parent and toddlers email isn’t going to suit a landing page with flashing neon text. Conversely, teenagers don’t appreciate the finer points of neutral colours or wordy content.

Pages

Invest in creating quality pages that you think will convert. By utilising the knowledge we already have about web design we can quite easily establish the best practices for creating web pages. Testing two poor pages that don’t adhere to the best practices means we end up with the best of a bad lot after testing. The point is that you should always initially create pages that are as appealing as possible and progress from this point.

Further Testing

If you create two disparate styles of advert or landing page and one comes out on top by a large majority then make sure to do some more A/B testson a more minutia of the advert.

For example keeping the page the same, but varying the text or images used slightly allows you to see in minute detail which page is better. Doing this across a number of variables allows you then establish which version of all the A/B tests is best.

Remember Placement

The placement and layout of the graphics and overall page also makes a big difference when it comes to A/B testing. You’d be amazed but altering the button’s placement, colour or text can have a big impact on how successful a landing page is. Once again, test, test and test some more.

It’s also worthwhile understanding that the larger the test sizes the less room for mistakes. Larger test groups make for more accurate results. So, allow your tests to run until you have hundreds or even thousands of results. This allows you to make a more accurate decision on which is better, based on a larger target group.

Read Results

Always make sure that you take time to analyse the results. It’s often the case that things aren’t always as they seem with A/B testing. So, don’t jump to conclusions. This said, try to anticipate why your customers prefer one page over another and do simple A/B tests that may work for them. For example, should a CTA button be red or green, or should the price of the product appear on a landing page or not?

Continue Testing

The reality is that even after we finish testing, we still have plenty of room for improvement. The mantra, ‘always be testing’ rings true for all involved in A/B testing. There is always room for improvement, well until you reach a conversion rate of 100% that is.

These tips are here to help you improve on the way you test your pages, calls to action and adverts. With a little work you can make more of your site and improve your conversions and ultimately your bottom line.